Attentively Listen (Philippians 2:8)

Men are accused of many things against which we defend ourselves diligently.  However, there is one accusation against us to which we have a difficult time denying and that is that we have selective hearing.  Granted that not all men ignore their wives--me being one of them--or pretend to listen and choose to select what they say they heard.  But as a whole, men are guilty.  Many wives wish they could get their husbands to listen attentively to what they say and even more so the requests that they make.  This type of listening would be "attentive listening".

An example of this was done by The Lord, Jesus.  The scriptures say that Jesus was obedient to the Father.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)

The term obedient comes from the Greek word for attentively listening.  It is the kind of listening that my German Shepherd displays when he thinks he hears something.  He raises his head with ears pointed straight up and faces towards the direction of the sound.  He wants to hear everything that is going on so that he can respond properly.  So, a person who listens attentively to another does it so that they can respond properly to the communication given to them.

This type of listening would benefit the Christian.  For us to walk through our day, attentively listening for God's voice would not only be good, but it would enable us to do his will.  How many times have you handled a matter wrongfully only to recognize what you should have done afterwards and sometimes the recognition came immediately afterwards?  If we could only hear God's voice sooner, so much better could come from our actions.  The key to doing God's will is listening.  Listening does not occur by hearing, but when our attention is focused on God when he speaks.  Too many times, we are distracted by external problems and internal thoughts.  We need to block out all distractions and attentively listen for God.

As you live today, continually focus on recognizing and listening for God's voice.  Obedience will be the byproduct.

Stir The Flames (2 Peter 3:1)

One thing I enjoy about camping is building a fire.  I have enjoyed it ever since being a Boy Scout and learning how to build one.  As you probably know when a fire starts to die, it only needs to be stirred a bit, just to get the flames going again.  Believers need stirred just like a fire does.

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: (2 Peter 3:1)

If you want to help believers, stir up their minds to remember God's word and how the Lord has worked in their lives.  Some may need rebuked and others may required a reproof, but by far, the majority need only to be stirred.  A loving Christian has no problem with stirring up people.  Don't be quick to think that struggling people need to be rebuked.  Their fire of faith may be dwindling low, but a simple stirring of their remembrance about God and what he has done for them will stoke their flames of faith.  Be an encourager.  The Lord knows, we have enough rebukers in the world. 

Prayers Not Heard (Psalm 66:18)

Why is it that sometimes God hears my prayers and at other times does not?  What determines if God will hear them?  When I need God, I want to make sure that he is attentive to my requests.  As a sinner, I know that I sin daily, but there have been times that God seemed to hear my prayers in spite of me sinning.  Why is that so?

The affection of your heart determines God's attention to your prayer.  (If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Psalms 66:18). It is not so much the sin, but the affection that our heart has towards it that motivates his response.  When we regard sin in our heart, we are holding it dear to ourselves.  Our heart's focus is on the sin and our desire to keep and enjoy it.  It is this heart condition that is really divided against God, which causes him not to be attentive to our prayers.

Remember when you were lost in your sin?  You then heard the gospel and your heart was changed.  Instead of wanting to hold on to your sin or have regard for it, you disdained it.  You experienced what the bible calls repentance.  It was that change of heart that brought attention to your call to the savior.  I remember calling out to Jesus throughout my entire childhood to have him as savior.  I believed he was the savior.  I knew he died on the cross to pay for my sins, but my heart kept getting in the way.  It was not until I was nearly 22 years of age before my heart was changed and that change made all the difference with my prayer.  No longer was I regarding sin in my heart and finally my prayer was answered.

Remember, it isn't any different today.  We still sin and we still need God to answer our prayers.  Thankfully we do not need to live a sinless life in order to get prayers answered.  What we do need is a heart that wants God instead of wanting to hold on to sin.

Why Make Me Thirsty? (Psalm 63:1)

Over the years, I have heard many people say that it was during the good and prosperous times in their lives that they became complacent and wandered away from God.  It seemed that because things were going well, the need for prayer diminished and the need for cautiously walking so as to please God and gain blessings was no longer urgent.  How does God help us when we become like this?  What does he do to bring us back to himself?

Sometimes God allows trials to come so that we may again recognize our need for him.

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; (Psalms 63:1)

In many cases, the trial is not a chastening, but the opportunity needed to brings us to the recognition of our need for him.  A close friend of mine shared one time about how her parents had been struggling in their relationship.  That was up until the time that one of them became very ill.  It was the illness that shocked each of them into the reality of how much they really loved and needed each other.  It was the wake up call.  For us, trials can be much the same.  Not all trials are for this purpose, but there are occasions when they are.

If you are currently in a trial, consider at least that The Lord may be trying to accomplish this work in your life.  As you view others in trials, recognize that they may be right with God, but need to be drawn closer as well.  They do not need your judgment at this time but rather your support.

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No Reputation (Philippians 2:7)

Jesus went from one end of the being spectrum to the other: from being God to becoming a slave.  He was not forced to make this decision because he had done wrong by positioning himself as God like Lucifer had attempted to do, but willfully chose to do this because of our need of redemption and his loving desire to meet that need.

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Philippians 2:7)

Jesus set the example and the Father wants us to follow.  He wants us to lose our life for his sake.  He lost it for ours and now he wants us to lose ours for him.  His loss was greater than ours.  His loss brought him to a low state of living.  Not a low state of living in sin, but of hunger, thirst, weariness and eventual death.  When we lose our lives, we only lose the desires we have for them.  What God is asking us to do is trifle in comparison to what he has done for us.

What are you willing to lose for God?  Can we really say lose?  For God says that whoever loses his life for God's sake will find it.  But again, are you willing to step away from your life so that God can gain what he needs from your life?

The Banner Of Truth (Psalm 60:4)

In the midst of a great trial, God has provided you a banner or an opportunity to raise up his standard.  The standard you can raise is truth.  For the world who either rejects truth or will not read God's word, there is still a standard of truth displayed.  That standard is your testimony of faith in the trial.

Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. (Psalms 60:4)

Strength to raise or hold up the standard does not come from determination or dedication, but from times of fellowship with The Lord.  As we draw nigh to God, he draws nigh to us and with that he brings his supply of grace.  It is by God's grace that we have the strength of faith to raise the standard before the world.

Sin robs us.  It robs us of joy and also strength.  Each time we fall to sin, we are weakened in our walk.  As we become weak, so does our faith.  It is because of weakened faith that we waiver in holding up a standard of truth for others to see.  That is why we must daily turn to God for forgiveness so that he may again establish our feet on the rock.

Holding up the banner is not a fanatical action, which says, "Look at me, I have a lot of faith!"  Instead, the banner is automatically raised in your life as you look to God for deliverance.  The scoffers will mock and scorn, but as you remain steadfast in faith to God, he will exalt you and your banner for all the world to see.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

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Faith And Fear Go Hand In Hand (Psalm 56:3)

Some things in life go hand in hand.  With love comes heart ache, gray hair with age, weeds with flowers and hand prints on the walls with kids.  This so true that we coined a phrase, "We are taking the good with the bad."  Another hand in hand aspect of life is fear with trust.

Faith and fear go hand in hand.  You may have fear without faith or trust, but you will never have trust without the presence of fear.  (What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. Psalms 56:3). Fear occurs when we emotionally respond to the circumstances in our lives.  The circumstances indicate that only bad is about to occur and that we are hopelessly in its path.  It is at these times that we anxiously respond to the circumstances.  In a frantic effort, we try to change our circumstances or perform some action that will lessen their effect.

However it is at this same time that The Lord wants us to cease from our efforts and rest in what he will do for us in light of the circumstances that we face.  When we rest in him, we are trusting.  We rest in him when we cease from our own efforts.  Is this not what you did when you received salvation?  With great effort you tried to perform good works and religious duties to negate the mounding debt of sin that you owed a righteous and holy God.  That was, until you heard and understood about the savior.  Because he paid your complete debt on the cross, he called you to trust or rest in him.  When you rested in him and his finished work completed on the cross, you did so in light of fear, but your trusting brought the results that only God could do.

In this same fashion, we need to look to God for his strength and him to work.  We may be experiencing fear with our trial, but in the midst of it, God wants us to trust in him or in other words to rest assure that he is in control and will work out his divine plan, which is best for us.  Resting in God is never easy, but we are always able to do this.  We cannot escape fear and are not failures as Christians because we fear just as long as we exercise faith in response to our fear.

Remember, faith and fear go hand in hand.

We Should Not Be Moved (Psalm 55:22)

Because The Lord promised to sustain you, there should not be any circumstance in life that should cause you to stumble, fall, or give up.  The Lord's presence and power is always there and available.  However, how he wants to provide power and the steps he wants us to take in the midst of trials may not be what we expect or desire.  If trials or troubles have tripped you up, then you must have been trying to stand on your own. 

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalms 55:22)

Many times in trials, we pray for The Lord to remove our trial and we hang on until he does.  But when he does not removed the trial or answer our prayer as expected, we fall.  What we should have done was seek God's face in fellowship.  His fellowship will bring joy to our hearts and the joy of The Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

I remember years ago when I was without a car and unable to cut my budget enough to save and buy one.  Each morning, I left the house before dark and rode my son's bike six miles to a co-worker's house and then commuted with him for the remainder of the trip.  The ride home required me to complete a ten mile trip.  I really wanted God to remove the trial and provide for me a car.  However, he had other plans.  

The last part of my trip required a quarter mile trip up an extremely steep hill.  For each peddle push that I made, I prayed, "God, please give me a car."  Little did I know, but God was more concerned about developing my prayer life than providing me convenience with a car.  A car eventually came.  It was a Volkswagen Rabbit diesel and it was given to me as a gift.  With that The Lord received praise and glory from me and glory and honor before all my co-workers who saw my plight without a car and what The Lord had done.  

In the end, I saw that it was best for the trial to come and for The Lord not to quickly deliver me from the trial.  If trials come your way, it is alright to pray for deliverance, but what is better is to seek his face in fellowship.

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Goodness Of God (Psalm 52:1)

I remember as a boy in grade school, we had a reading lab for English class.  It was a tier level curriculum that required you to read a story and then complete a quiz to assess comprehension.  After taking the test, you would score your own material.  After completing all the stories in one level, you advanced to the next.  

At that time, I really struggled with read so I developed a plan.  I would select my reading material and also remove the score key from the storage box.  Then after reading the story, I would take the test, but all the while the score key, shaped like a book marker, was under the thigh of my leg.  All seemed well and I was moving along through the curriculum at a good pace.  

Then one day, the teacher handed me my material and stated that she had the score key at her desk and that I should contact her when I needed her to score it for me.  Busted!  I thought my plan was great and I was getting away with it.  Boy was I ever wrong.

The Psalmist states that many times people think that they are getting away with their sin, but all the while, God knows all.  We only are permitted to continue in our way without experiencing his judgment or chastening because of his goodness.  We may think that we are getting away with sin, but in reality, we are getting away with nothing. 

Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. (Psalms 52:1)

God's goodness is not only demonstrated towards us by his blessing, kind acts and help in times of need, but also when he delays in responding towards us and our sin.  Both acts of God's goodness are great and desirable, but we need the latter much more than we do the former.

Loving Kindness and Tender Mercy (Psalm 51:1)

Mercy occurs because of what is in God and is not brought on or motivated by the need of a helpless transgressor.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. (Psalms 51:1)

God's mercy or act of having pity towards man is based on his loving kindness and tender mercies.  Loving kindness occurs when he displays favor towards someone.  An example of this is found in the book of Esther.  When the uninvited Queen Esther approached the King, the King showed loving kindness by putting forth the sceptre and receiving her.  Similarly, this is God's response to man.  But even greater than loving kindness is tender mercy.  Tender mercy comes from a word meaning the womb or the bowels.  As the tender love of a mother towards the baby that she carries, so is God's love towards us.  In spite of us falling into sin, he yearns deeply inside for us.  It is this deep yearning that causes him to exercise mercy towards us.

Many times when we wrong people, we try to perform actions that may turn their heart to forgive us.  With God it is not necessary.  By tender mercy he takes the first step and reaches out to man.  It is his tender mercy that brings conviction, repentance and confession.  If it were not for his loving kindness and tender mercy we would be without hope.

As you grow in grace, allow God to develop this loving kindness and tender mercy towards those around you.  As long as you continue to focus on yourself and your own needs, you will never reach this state.  However when you esteem others better than yourself and look on the needs of them as stated in Philippians 2:4, you will begin to grow into the image of Christ.

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (Philippians 2:4)

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Giving Support (Philippians 2:1)

Remember a great event in your life?  Did you keep it a secret or did you run out and share it with somebody?  Everything from trips to funny events move us to share them with friends, colleagues and family.  Why do we do this?  As personal beings, we attach ourselves to others and gain enjoyment, strength, compassion and understanding from those individuals.  This is part of God's design for man.  God intends for people in relationships to provide strength and support for others in that relationship.  The scriptures share abilities that friends can have towards others.

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, (Philippians 2:1)

Consolation is much needed today.  A great way to receive it is from another person.  The word for compassion comes from two root words meaning "near" and "to call".  The action of calling a person near to you is so that they can gain needed strength from the support you offer.

Imagine a child falling down and scraping his knee.  His mother calls him to herself and then embraces him in her arms.  The pain sensors in his leg continue to work just as before, but the drawing near to his mother helps alleviate the pain.  This type of aid is also true for emotional pain as well.  I remember when my wife lost her father.  She maintained her composure quite well until the graveside.  After the trumpet played taps and a flag was presented to the family, she broke down.  When she was unable to stand and emotionally distraught, I reached out to her and held her closely.  The drawing near and providing support brought the strength that she needed.

This is what is needed in the church today.  There are many people who are hurting and falling.  Instead of reaching out to these individuals and attempting to draw near to them, the church watches them falter.  It seems that the only people getting support are those who are the active members of the church.  What is sad is that those who do not have a fellowship bond with others in the church are left to stand on their own.  It is no wonder that people fall away from God.  Their falling may be due in part to them not having the intended support from others that God had planned.

Supporting people who struggle is not a glorious event.  It can be very discouraging because those you care to help may still resist the help that God brings.  But it is not about you and me or making us feel good.  It is about helping the fallen.  Look around in your life.  Think of the people that you can draw near to and provide comfort.  The next time you see them reach out and make a difference in their lives.  

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Do I Have To Pray? (Luke 18:1)

Do I really need to pray?  I don't know what to pray.  So how can prayer help?  Is not there something else that I can do to help me face my trials?  These questions have been asked for centuries. However the scriptures give us answers to each of them.

Luke 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Prayer keeps us from fainting or becoming weak.  Prayer does not tire the heart of man, but instead strengthens it.  Fellowship with The Lord will stir the heart of man and bring it strength.  If man ceases to pray, he will become weak.  It is not rest that will bring strength to the heart of man, but prayer.

Prayer is not an option in life, but a necessity.  The Lord tells us that we ought to pray. This means that prayer is a necessity of life.  Years ago Disney put out the movie called Jungle Book.  The movie contained a song called "The Bare Necessities Of Life".  The content of the song contained all things that a bear thought would make life easy and enjoyable.  It may seem good for a movie, but life is not easy.  Each of us face hardships daily and the necessity of life for dealing with these trials is prayer.

Prayer is not one solution of many for life's problems.  It should always be our choice response to them.  There are not many roads leading to God, but only Jesus who is the way.  In like manner, there are not different ways to solve life's trials and struggles, but only prayer.  Without prayer, you will not be responding to your trials in the way that God intends.  Prayer is not an option, but the solution.

When we cease to pray, we give up.

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Fathers Passing Their Faith To Their Children (Psalm 44:1-2)

Fathers have a the grave responsibility of leading their family and teaching their children about The Lord their God.  Most men focus their teaching on behaviors the children should and should not do.  This is very important information to convey to children, but the best results expected would be weak Christianity with the worst being a form of godliness without a true relationship with The Lord.  What fathers should teach their children is the personal relationship he has with God and how they can have the same.  The Psalmist records a wonderful example of this.

We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. (Psalms 44:1-2)

You, as a father, would be best to share with your children the trials that you experienced and how The Lord has either delivered you from or through them.  This enable children to see your heart and how The Lord has strengthen and affected you.  Wisdom on the amount of details and types of trials to share should be utilized, but as your children become teenagers, they would greatly benefit from knowing and understanding how you face and deal with fears.  Them seeing the burden you carry and the faith that you demonstrate in God will have a greater impact on them than the rules and standards you teach.  The latter is important for protection from sin, but the former establishes strength in a relationship with God which provides strength for victory living.  If you had to choose between the two, transferring a faith relationship would be better.  It would be better because a relationship with God will develop a heart for God and a hate for evil.  The Lord can easily direct a tender heart more easily than he can a self righteous cold heart.  Was not this the problem with the Pharisees?  Ask yourself, do you want to create a rule keeper with no heart for The Lord or a person with a heart for God who allows Him to develop guidelines for their lives?  The choice is simple.

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Accusations Against God (Luke 23:35)

The crowd, who just days before was lauding Jesus as he made his triumphal entry into the city, was now found to be making accusations against him.  Why were the accusations made and what was the cause for such actions?  The answer to these questions will reveal why all accusations are made against God by the lost and also the saved.

And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. (Luke 23:35)

It seems that every time a tragedy takes place, the first words you hear from people are, "If God is a loving God, why did he allow this to happen?  These same words are made against God by saved people when prayers go unanswered or when trials are permitted to come their way.  The reason they make accusations against God is because they do not understand God.  

The crowd around the cross made accusations against him and commanded that if he was God to deliver himself from the cross.  Their accusation indicated their ignorance.  Had they fully understood that his greatest work and miracle was being performed before their eyes, they would have praised him instead of making such accusations.  Had they known and understood that the redemption for all mankind was being made, his life was being sacrificed for all and that salvation and deliverance from the bondage of sin was being purchased, they would have offered greater praise than when he made his entrance into the city one week earlier.  But they didn't.  Because they did not understand, the faulty reasoning in their heart led them to other conclusions.

Many years ago, my wife and I made a church visit to a family in a nearby town.  They had several children with one of them having legs that had not formed properly.  As directed by her doctor, the mother would brace her daughter's feet into a contraption that would twist the child's legs into the direction they were supposed to grow.  This treatment caused much discomfort to the child.  She would lay in her crib crying.  My heart ached as I heard the little girl's cries and I am sure that it hurt the mother more than it hurt me.  I wonder what the little girl thought.  What kind of accusations did she make towards her mother.  Did she accuse her of not loving her?  Did the daughter turn her heart against her mother for such cruel unloving actions?  If she did, she was absolutely wrong because the mother's actions were intended to deliver the daughter from the bondage of being crippled.

Does not our Heavenly Father do the same.  Within each of us resides a nature that is in rebellion against God.  It opposes the new life in Christ that we have and strives to bring us back into the grip of which we were firmly held.  God in his love, mercy and grace works in our lives through trials to enable us to see his mighty power and to conform us to the image of his dear son.  When we fail to see his great work, we will make wrongful accusations against him.  It is during times such as these that we must trust in the goodness of God our father and believe that regardless of how circumstances may appear, his actions are always in love and are motivated by what is best for us.  If you are struggling in a trial, you would be best to draw closer to God and pray that he would reveal himself to you.  He may not reveal the purpose of the trial, but he may reveal himself to you and strengthen your faith to trust his love, care and goodness instead of reacting to circumstances.